Game Ball Monitoring System

ABSTRACT

A system for monitoring the position of ball during a game. The game ball monitoring system includes a plurality of boundary sensors that are placed along the boundary lines of a sports field. The boundary sensors form the boundary lines of the sports field, wherein a representation of the boundary line is relayed to and presented on a display screen. The game ball monitoring system further includes a ball having a GPS chip and transceiver securable thereto in order to transmit the position of the ball to the display. The display allows a user to view the boundary line of the playing field via information received from the sensors and the ball relative to the boundary line. A logic within the display determines if the ball is within or outside of the bounds of the boundary line in order to allow for accurate out-of-bounds calls to be made.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/302,887 filed on Mar. 3, 2016. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to game ball monitoring systems. More specifically, the present invention provides a plurality of sensors transmitting a boundary line of a sports field to a display screen and a ball having a GPS chip securable thereto, wherein the position of the ball relative to the boundary line is represented on the display screen for allowing officials to accurately determine whether a ball is within or outside of the boundary line.

Many sports, such as soccer, football, hockey, tennis, basketball among others, are played with a ball on a lined field or court. A significant objective of each of these sports is keeping the ball within the bounds of the field of play and it is often the responsibility of a referee or official to monitor the field boundaries to determine if the ball goes out of play. However, it can be very difficult for an individual to accurately determine the position of the ball at all times. An inaccurate out-of-bounds call can have game-altering consequences and result in an unfair game.

It is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the known art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing game ball monitoring systems. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of game ball monitoring systems now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new game ball monitoring system wherein the same can be utilized for providing convenience for the user when determining whether a ball is positioned within or outside a boundary line of a sports field.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved game ball monitoring system that has all of the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages. The game ball monitoring system includes a plurality of sensors that are placed along the boundaries of a sports field. The sensors form the boundary lines of the sports field, wherein a representation of the boundary line is transmitted and presented on a display. The system further includes a ball having a GPS chip and transceiver securable thereto in order to transmit the position of the ball to the display. The display allows a user to view the boundary line of the playing field via information received from the sensors and the ball relative to the boundary line. A logic within the display determines if the ball is within or outside of the bounds of the boundary line in order to allow for accurate out-of-bounds calls to be made.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particular pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout.

FIG. 1 shows a frontal view of the display of the game ball monitoring system.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a ball of the game ball monitoring system.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the game ball monitoring system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the game ball monitoring system. For the purposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the present invention, the preferred embodiment will be discussed as used for determining whether a ball is positioned within or outside a boundary line of a sports field. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a frontal view of the display of the game ball monitoring system. The game ball monitoring system comprises a plurality of boundary sensors 14 that are configured to be positioned along the boundary lines 13 of a sports field 12. The boundary line 13 includes but is not limited to the outer perimeter of a field or court for playing a sports game that requires a ball to remain within the bounds of the field or court, such as basketball, hockey, football, baseball, tennis, racquetball, soccer, among other sports games. In some embodiments, the boundary line 13 includes bounds of a goal, such as a soccer goal, football goal posts, basketball hoop, hockey goal, and the like. In other embodiments, a boundary line 13 includes various points along a sports field, such as yard lines field, a free throw line, three-point line, or half court line of a basketball court, and the like.

In the illustrated embodiment, the boundary sensors 14 are positioned beneath the sports field 12 so as to not obstruct the area of play. The boundary sensors 14 are in communication with each other and with a logic disposed within a display screen 23. The boundary sensors 14 are configured to wirelessly transmit a signal to the logic, wherein the logic communicates with a processor to convert the signal to a visual representation of the boundary line 13 on the display screen 23. In the illustrated embodiment, the boundary sensor 14 is a position sensor configured to detect the boundary line in which the boundary sensors 14 are placed. In the illustrated embodiment, the position sensors are placed along the perimeter of the sports field and along each of the yard lines at fixed intervals. In this way, all the football field boundaries and yard lines are represented on the display screen 23.

In the illustrated embodiment, goal sensors are also positioned along a pair of posts 29 of each goal post 16. The goal sensors are in communication with the logic of the display 23, wherein the logic communicates with the processor and converts the signal to a visual representation of the goal post 16 boundary lines on the display screen 23 so as to allow a user to accurately determine if a ball has passed between a pair of posts 29 of a goal posts 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the goal sensors are motion sensors, proximity sensors, or any sensor suitable to detect whether a ball 17 has passed through the posts 29 of a goal post 16.

In some embodiments, the game ball monitoring system includes a marker 15 having a marker sensor therein. In the illustrated embodiment, the marker 15 is an elongated pole adapted to remain in an upright, vertical orientation relative to the ground. The marker sensor is positioned along the length of the elongated pole of the marker 15. The marker 15 is adapted to mark a location of the ball 17 at a position it was last in play relative to the boundary lines 13 of the sports field 12. The marker sensor in communication with the logic of the display screen 23 so as to allow a user to accurately mark or view the last position of the ball 17 when in play.

The game ball monitoring system further includes a ball 17 having a microprocessor, a GPS chip, and a transceiver securable thereto in order to transmit the position of the ball 17 to the display screen 23. In the illustrated embodiment, the ball 17 comprises one or more pockets 22 (as seen in FIG. 2), wherein the pockets secure the microprocessor, GPS chip, and transceiver thereto. In some embodiments, the microprocessor, GPS chip, and transceiver are embedded within the core of the ball 17. In other embodiments, the microprocessor, GPS chip, and transceiver are disposed in a housing securable to the exterior of the ball 17 via a fastener, such as adhesive. As seen illustrated in FIG. 2, some embodiments of the ball 17 include a first pocket positioned beneath the laces of the ball 17 and a pair of second pockets positioned at opposing tips or ends of the ball 17. The microprocessor, GPS chip, or transceiver can be separately stored in each pocket 22 or three separate sets of GPS chip and transceiver units can be positioned in each pocket 22 for more accurate display of the position of the ball 17 relative to the boundary line 13. Each pocket 22 comprises an open end for receiving the microprocessor, GPS chip, and transceiver and an interior volume.

In embodiments comprising a single GPS chip, the GPS chip is calibrated so as to account for the size of the ball 17 relative to the exact positioning of the GPS chip within the ball 17. The calibration will prevent errors in out-of-bound determinations by detecting the entire ball 17 dimension, from a first end to an opposing second end of the ball, versus solely detecting the position of the GPS chip within the ball 17. Alternatively, having multiple GPS chips within the ball 17 will allow proper determination of ball position relative to the size and shape of the ball 17.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a block diagram of the game ball monitoring system. The game ball monitoring system 11 includes the display screen 23 having a logic 25, processor 26, and memory 27 stored therein. The GPS chip 19 of the ball 17 is configured to relay the position of the ball 17 to the transceiver 20, which then in turn wirelessly transmits 21 the position of the ball 17 to the logic 25 of the display screen 23. As used herein, “logic” refers to (i) logic implemented as computer instructions and/or data within one or more computer processes and/or (ii) logic implemented in electronic circuitry. In one embodiment, the logic is stored at least partially on a non-transitory computer readable medium, i.e., a memory, and is operably connected to a processor, which executes the logic. A visual representation of the ball 17, i.e. football, soccer ball, etc., appear on the display screen 23.

The boundary sensors 14 detect the boundary lines in which they are positioned therearound. The boundary sensors 14 relay the position of the boundary to the logic 25, wherein the logic 25 causes a visual representation of the boundary line to appear on the display screen 23. In some embodiments, the visual representation further includes other features of a sports field, such as the coloring of the field. For example, if the sports field is a football field the boundary lines will appear white and the area surrounding the boundary lines will appear green in color to represent football field turf or grass.

The logic 25 of the display screen 23 compares the position of the ball 17 relative to the position of the sensors, including the boundary sensors 14, the goal sensors 24, and the marker sensor 28. If the position of the ball 17 is within the bounds of either the boundary line sensor 14 or the goal sensor 24, a first alert is displayed on the screen of the display 23. If the position of the ball 17 is outside of the boundary line sensor 14 or passes alongside but not between the goal sensor 24, a second alert is displayed on the display screen 23. In the illustrated embodiment, the first and second alerts comprise a change of color of the white boundary line of which the sensor represents. For example, the first alert alters the electronic representation of the white boundary line or goal post to a color green and the second alert alters the white boundary line to a color red. However, in alternate embodiments the alerts can be visual, audible, or a combination of both.

If the marker sensor 28 is active, the logic 25 detects the placement of the marker sensor 28 relative to the placement of the boundary line sensor 14 and provides a visual representation of the marker 15 adjacent to the sideline of the boundary on the display screen 23. The logic 25 is programmable to determine the distance of the ball 17 relative to the marker 15 placements. This allows a user to accurately determine the distance the ball 17 traveled during a play relative to the last position of the ball on the field. The memory 27 of the display screen 23 further allows the positioning of the sensors 14, 24, 28 and the ball 17 throughout the game to be stored thereon such that a user can play back an occurrence to determine whether a ball 17 was in bounds or out bounds at a determined time of play.

It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. 

1) A game ball monitoring system, comprising: a ball having a microprocessor, a wireless transceiver, and a GPS chip; a plurality of sensors configured to be positioned along a boundary line of a playing field, wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to be in communication with each of the plurality of sensors and the GPS chip; the microprocessor configured to detect a position of the ball and to transmit the position to a display; the display showing a view of the boundary line of the playing field defined by the plurality of sensors, the display showing the ball relative to the plurality of sensors; a logic that is at least partially stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium and that, when executed at least in part by a processor, causes the game ball monitoring system to perform a method, the method comprising: detecting the boundary line of the playing field via the plurality of sensors; transmitting sensor data to the display; displaying the boundary line of the playing field on the display; determining the position of the ball via the GPS chip; transmitting the position of the ball via the wireless transceiver; displaying the position of the ball on the display; comparing the position of the ball to the position of the boundary line of the playing field; providing a first alert if the positon is within the boundary line of the playing field, wherein the first alert is displayed on the display; providing a second alert if the position is outside of the boundary line of the playing field, wherein the second alert is displayed on the display. 2) The game ball monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the ball comprises one or more pockets disposed on the exterior thereof, the one or more pockets configured for storing the microprocessor, the GPS chip, and the transceiver. 3) The game ball monitoring system of claim 2, wherein the one or more pockets comprise a first pocket positioned beneath laces of a football and a pair of second pockets each positioned on opposing ends of the ball, wherein the ball is a football. 4) The game ball monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising a marker sensor in communication with the logic, wherein the logic is configured to calculate a distance between the marker sensor and the position of the ball. 5) The game ball monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising one or more goal sensors in communication with the logic and disposed on a goal post, wherein the one or more goal sensors are configured to detect if the ball passes on either side of the goal post. 